Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

It is truly pitiful that I draw blogging inspiration from stuff at work. But indeed it happens and has resulted in this yearly article, now in its third year of life! Here’s how it works…

At the office we follow this routine during annual reviews. Your peers are asked to list things you should start doing in the new year, bad habits you should stop and activities you should continue. It is sort of a kinder and gentler way of telling someone what they should or shouldn’t be doing. I’ve adapted this theme for Alpharetta’s restaurant scene.

Start – Hot Dogs

Yeah, that’s right, I want hot dogs. Or maybe I should say “haute” dogs. They’ve got the potential to be our next great food craze. Hot dogs provide the chef a platform to be creative and innovative in a lot of ways – from the toppings to the protein and even the bun. They can be versatile culinary creations or simple ballpark grub, and everything in between. On top of that, hot dog margins are better than that of say a hamburger or pizza. I’d love to see a suburban restaurateur take a chance like this.

Stop – Self-serve Frozen Yogurt

I’m totally ripping this off from last year. It didn’t take a crystal ball to realize that closures were coming in the froyo space in 2011. We lost Tutti Frutti and Yoforia on Windward. Yoforia’s Alpharetta closure was significant as this was the franchise’s first failure. Also closing was the froyo shop in the Northpoint Mall food court (can’t remember their name).

I don’t wish failure on anyone, but I really would like to see a return to real, honest-to-goodness ice cream. Is that too much to ask?

Continue – Food trucks

2011 saw at least three food trucks make the drive up GA400 to Alpharetta. It’s a trend I’d very much like to continue. The suburbs could use the diversity and creativity these guys bring up from Atlanta. I’ll write more about this topic again.

13 Responses to “Start/Stop/Continue – Alpharetta Restaurants 2012”

Agree on stopping the fro-yo madness. They all taste the same to me, with the exception of Pinkberry which isn’t even one of the self-serve chains. Wish Pinkberry would open an outlet in north Fulton, but other than that I wouldn’t cry if all the other places closed down.

Please contact Greg Smith with the Atlanta Street Food Coalition regarding the food trucks. I begged him to talk to the group last year and that is how several trucks showed at the Christmas event of the Alpha Farmers Market downtown. I would love to see Yumbi, Good Food etc all up here but we would have to support them. A dedicated food event would be awesome.

I’ve been to HD1, Richard Blais’ “haute dog” place downtown. My hotdog (with pork and coleslaw) was good, and it was interesting to see the various ingredients they’ve put together on the menu. I also had some excellent boiled peanuts as a side. The downside, however, was that hot dog, peanuts, and a coke set me back about $14. Since then it’s become a joke around the office: “Hey, want to go get a $14 hot dog? Um, no.”

Like you with froyo, I don’t wish failure on anyone, but I don’t see this craze, or HD1, lasting long.

I agree. I’d love to see an old fashioned mom and pop home made ice cream shop with ice cream made fresh in the back.
Cold Stone Cremery is too sweet, Bruster’s has not indoor seating, and yo-fro is NOT ice cream.

I personally like the Brain Freeze yogurt place near the Super Target. Good selection of flavors and an endless assortment of toppings that were arranged around the counter in a square that really helped the flow of folks in there. No standing all around a sneeze guard shielded counter. Get your stuff keep moving and end at the checkout. Indoor and outdoor seating. Nice place